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Wednesday, June 03, 2009

The Sweet Life in Paris: A really good sundae

The best sundae I ever ate was in France and consisted of vanilla ice cream topped with chestnut puree and billows of whipped cream. I already thought it was the best sundae I'd ever tasted when I got to a layer of dry, crumbly, airy meringue and almost collapsed from happiness. Meringue in a sundae is genius. Just when the ice cream has gone a bit soupy and monotonous, your interest is revived by a crispy/chewy cookie.

Lebovitz's cinnamon vacherin with espresso-caramel ice cream, chocolate sauce and toasted almonds has a fancy name, but somewhat resembles that long ago sundae, which probably also had a fancy name that I have forgotten. Although there are four separate homemade components, they were super-easy to make: a basic meringue, a (fairly) basic and pretty wonderful ice cream, basic chocolate sauce, and basic candied nuts. I really mean it: basic. You just follow the instructions and you will succeed.

My thoughts: If you substituted vanilla ice cream for the espresso, chestnut puree for the chocolate, and added whipped cream, this might be the best sundae ever.

Husband said: "I'd leave out the chewy thing in the bottom. It's unnecessary and distracting. You either have to deal with it or eat around it."

He ate around it; everyone else dealt with it. Very popular dessert.

I also made Lebovitz's brined pork roast with bourbon-apricot glaze. If you have to eat pork loin, this is a fine way to do it, though it's still dry and bland compared to other cuts of pig, like the shoulder. As I suspected, both my kids loved it. They prefer their meat tidy and pale, unsullied by sauce or too much flavor.

9 comments:

just saw your write-up on ruhlman's ratio over on slate and really loved it! i'm also reading the sweet life right now and made the floating island. not as hard as i thought it would be. this is a really fun blog!

I've spent the last several evenings reading your blog archives. I love your blog. I love the premise. I love your writing (@ bakingepiphanies thanks for the tip on the Slate article!). I am impressed at the energy you are able to put into this project, i.e., daily shopping for and preparing frequently not just one dish but a full menu. I've been a dedicated reader of numerous food (especially baking) blogs for several years, and don't know how I missed finding yours before now. Glad I finally did!

One of the many things to love about the French is the way they put chestnuts in everything. Marrons glacés, chestnut crepes ... and chestnut puree on a sundae? Yes, a thousand times yes. I also love brussels sprouts with finely chopped chestnuts and bacon - I think it's a Wolfgang Puck recipe. We make it every Thanksgiving and it's consumed as if set upon by wolves.

that sundae looks so good. and i love meringue at the bottom. i am trying to cut down on sweets having given up the idea of cutting them out altogether.just looking at the photo of the sundae satisfies my sweet tooth.thanks.

Moro by Sam & Sam Clark. Shelf essential? Yes. An all-time favorite. A brilliant and fascinating book about the cuisines of North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl. Shelf Essential? No. Not a bad book, but it can't decide if it's aspiring to be an all-purpose classic or something else entirely. It's neither. Recipes are mostly solid, few outstanding.

Mexico, One Plate at a Time by Rick Bayless. Shelf essential? No, but a very useful and reliable Mexican cookbook.

Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop. Shelf essential? Yes, especially if you're a Chinese food fanatic and want to delve into its regional cuisines. Though some of the recipes are too weird even for me, the beef with cumin was one of the best things I've ever cooked.

The Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang. Shelf essential? Sure, though if there's only room in your collection for one "basic" Chinese cookbook go for Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinese Cooking.